* This will be the last show at our Silver Lake location. We will relocate to Culver City this April.

(Los Angeles, CA)Thinkspace is honored to welcome Denmark based artist Armsrock along with New York City based artist Imminent Disaster to our gallery for Refuge, their first two-person show together.

Refuge is the forced necessity of societies in collapse. It begins with people in motion, moving away from circumstances that are barren or perilous, that are unable to sustain their life or are actively seeking to end it. Refuge carries with it the transience of being in between one home and another; it is a liminal space, its structures are built to be packed away with ease; it momentarily rebuilds community while acknowledging the fragility of its permanence.

This idea of Refuge grounded in the local presence of tent cities in Southern California will be the basis of the upcoming collaborative installation between Armsrock and Imminent Disaster. This exhibition will illustrate the fragile and temporary nature of any refuge and the collaborative installation between the two artists will be an allegory of sorts illustrating how we are all stuck in the same boat, which seems to be sinking.

“Refuge’s political underpinnings only intensify its visual impact as a catalogue of catastrophes and archetypal contemplations sketched on walls and dangling from ceilings – a mélange of textiles, dimensions, and heroic execution.” – JUXTAPOZ

Curated by Sarah Jo Marks and Dov Kelemer of DKE Toys, the Custom Yoka Show which debuted at last year’s DesignerCon featured an army of over 200 customs of adFunture’s 3” Yoka. Now the show is moving onto its next milestone – the first gallery exhibition which opens @ Black Maria this Thursday, February 18th (7 – 10:30 PM).

The Black Maria exhibition will feature pieces from the initial show, which can be viewed in the official flickr album, as well as roughly 35-40 new pieces including work from kaNO, Itokin Park, Scott Tolleson, Suckadelic, Uamou, and Kii Arens. It will also feature five addition Drachenloch Cavebear resin Yokas from Scott and Anne Willkowski of Wax Bean Studio as seen on the virtual flier image above.

Finally, a gourmet food truck is starting to be a requirement for happening art shows. So if like most of us you never remember to eat before you go to the show, you’re in luck – Bool BBQ will be parked out front for all you hungry art and toy collectors.
Black Maria Gallery
3137 Glendale Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90039
323.660.9393

Sorry for the late update on this one. My friend, Ysabel, just sent it to me a bit earlier…but if you’re in town and have nothing to do tonight, I’d highly suggest stopping by this exhibition. The paintings look great and well worth it. Enjoy!

Talented LA artists and good friends Martin Hsu (above) and Andrew Brandou will celebrate the upcoming Year of the Tiger with their For the Love of Tiger joint show opening @ Munky King on Thursday February 11th 2010 (7 to 10 PM). Individually both artists have created standout pieces in their recent showings – this is definitely a must-see exhibition.

As a first preview, here’s a look at Martin Hsu’s Protect. Revive. (above) which focuses not only on the coming Year of the Tiger but also the global plight of tigers as endangered species. This piece inverts the traditional relationship of children and tigers within Chinese folklore – rather than having the Tiger protecting the children, the Children (in Tiger suits) are caring for the Tiger represented in an abstract from as a tree in the forest. Beautiful work.